Story:The End of Eternity/E11
XI The city hosting the Thousand Eternal Ritual was simultaneously a microcosm of activity and a graveyard of existence. There seemed to be no movement or life in the gargantuan ruins, like a spur of movement in peripheral vision that refuses to budge when focused upon; but like said spur of consciousness, as soon as one looked away, the spot surged into motion once again. Thus was the state that Arend and Klaytaza found themselves in when they arrived in the Thousand Eternal City, or simply the City as Arend mentally dubbed it. This location, as Klaytaza had confirmed, was the projected impact point of the falling red moon. The point of Arend’s journey to the city was twofold; to hijack the Ritual, and to watch the end of the world with his own two eyes. After arriving in the city, even though he could not immediately discern if there was even anyone living within its gigantic limits, Arend felt deep within his soul that this would be the location he would die in. Within his heart, although he had mostly dispelled all doubts thanks to his conversation with Klaytaza on the train and fully committed himself to his fate, there was still a curtain of anxiety and despair that dragged down his every breath. There was a very good chance that he would never truly shake this pain within his soul, but something about the City made his mental condition so much worse. The entire metropolitan region seemed to radiate with an unspeakable, indescribable energy. It palpitated like an immense industrial heart, spilling over with life whilst drowning in death. The environment boggled the mind, refused to be understood; it was like nothing Arend had experienced before. That was when he knew without a doubt that the rest of the Keys to Eternity resided in this City, and that the final Thousand Eternal Ritual would take place within its limits. “I sense them,” Klaytaza stated as soon as they took their first steps off the train. In front of the two, the streets were quiet. So intensely quiet. “They are everywhere. They are watching. There are so many of them, Master.” She looked to Arend with a pleading look. He did not return her gaze, but stepped forward as he crossed his arms over his chest. “There aren’t enough. They will fade.” Despite his bravado, the confirmation of his foes before him filled Arend with a crushing feeling of anxiety and fear like nothing before. But now, more than ever, he found himself brave and able to function despite his fear. All of his existential worries were being channeled into action, thought, plans, and clear visions. Above all, he see the red moon in the sky, looming larger with each hour that passed. The fact that he could see his plans unfurling in front of him – his destruction inching ever closer – was giving him a newfound energy. He couldn’t afford to be afraid, or to hesitate. Not when he had sacrificed so much just to come this far. Arend started to walk forward into the labyrinth of the City, and Klaytaza followed him after a moment. “Why have they not attacked us yet,” Arend wondered aloud. “Do they not realize we have arrived?” “Unlikely,” Klaytaza retorted. “Most of the Keys are concentrated in the very heart of the City. They are preparing the Ritual for its final stages. The Ark has already been summoned; now they must guide it.” “The Ark…?” Arend looked up at the red moon. “So that’s what it’s called… You said most? So not all of the Keys are involved in the ritual?” “Correct. The Ritual requires the presence of several hundred Keys, but I can feel that there are others, scattered about for miles. There will be no escaping them.” “Good,” Arend stated with a gulp. “I don’t want to escape.” His body was screaming the opposite, but it was Arend’s stubborn mind and heart that allowed him to persist in the face of what was certainly certain death. “So,” he stated with a somewhat nervous chuckle, “how soon until they show their cowardly faces?” Right at that moment, Klaytaza forcibly pushed Arend to the side. He had been twirling the pen in his fingers, and as she pushed him, it was ejected from his grip and flew into the air. His Key did not have time to transform into her battle garb, but as Arend was pushed out of the way, she reached in the air for the pen. In response, it was bathed in light and transformed instantaneously into the double-sided longsword that she was so skilled in using. Before she could grab the blade, Klaytaza shuddered and unnaturally fell straight down into the ground. Her impact caused more destruction that logic seemed to dictate, and the faded concrete cracked and splintered beneath her. The summoned blade fell to the ground. Some distance away from the two discarded objects, Arend was propelled by Klaytaza’s push and fell onto the wall of a nearby building. All of this occurred in only a second’s time, and after that second had elapsed, a figure hopped down from the roof of the building Arend leaned upon. The instant before he was to hit the ground, the figure seemed to pause in midair – his fall halted for but a breath – and afterwards he tapped onto the ground lightly. Behind him, following the exact same action, a female with bright red hair and white celestial armor over her black bodysuit landed. The figure, a boy who appeared not much older than Arend, had terrible posture and a bit of a chunky body. Nonetheless, he had his hands in his pockets and a look of pure confidence on his face as he looked to Arend, who still posted upon the wall of the building and looked upon the scene with alarm. “So you really came,” the boy who floated said. “A lot of us didn’t think you were stupid enough to come right to our front door. Shows what we knew.” “Nothing,” Arend stated as he pushed himself up from the wall and stood, mirroring the boy with his hands in his pockets. “That’s what you know.” The enemy Key looked to Arend with eyes filled with nothing, but this emptiness still seemed to resonate with hatred. In contrast, the enemy Master only chuckled at Arend’s bravado. Klaytaza struggled with gravity to move, but ultimately only flailed about uselessly. “Says the kid about to die,” smirked the man with the red-headed Key. “You’re up against an army. What can you even do?” Arend took a step forward. “Fight,” he stated, “and win.” Defiance was painted all over his body. The man with the red-headed Key smirked and raised his defined eyebrows. “Right… Twichitatl, handle him.” In response to his command, the Key raised a skinny, hate-filled finger towards Arend. A second later, Arend fell to his knees with widened eyes. Gravity and the air around him had suddenly grown much heavier and his own body became incredibly dense, so much so that his legs had instantly buckled and he fell to the ground. The boy struggled to resist what was undoubtedly the Key’s ability, but the more he did so, the more his body shook and screamed out in agony. Sweat began to drench his clothes as he fell to his hands now. “Your Key is crushed, and now you will be, as well. Look above you, if you can,” taunted the enemy Master. Arend reflexively tried to look up, but found his neck muscles too crushed by gravity to allow much more than holding his head up. “Of course. What you would see above you is the source of our salvation… The eternal truth. Our final reality. The Creator’s wrath eternal.” "Bullshit…” Arend choked out. “…You idiot. You were born to lose. Just give in.” The boy with the red-headed Key let out a dark laugh as his Key stepped forward. The gravity bearing down on Arend increased and he felt his bones tremble. “Be crushed beneath gravity’s grip! Be crushed beneath God’s grip!” “My Key… is crushed? And now… myself, huh?” Arend managed to choke out. He felt his teeth threatening to be grinded into dust every time he closed his mouth. “Why not… both of us at once?” The man standing stopped in his tracks for a second. His hesitation was slight and lasted for a hair’s length of time, but it was visible and Arend noticed it. Despite feeling like his internal organs were about to be smashed into dust, he smirked. By now Klaytaza had silently transformed into her battle garb, and during the process, she regained some of her strength from her broken body. Picking up the discarded longsword, she slashed forward at the speed of light. Before the man or his red-headed Key could change any of the nearby gravity or retaliate, they were both bisected and instantly killed by Klaytaza’s decisive strike. The gravity around Arend instantly returned to normal once the man was killed, and he began to struggle for breath as his lungs enjoyed the ability to expand once more. “What an easy victory,” he gasped. “Was it?” Arend stood and turned around, and Klaytaza stepped in front of him with her blade raised. Behind the two stood a tall, dark-skinned girl with tight purple curls. A shorter woman with light pink hair and a black bodysuit accentuated with sky blue armor stood beside her. The two held hands. “Apologies, Master,” Klaytaza stated. “I did not sense these two.” She stepped towards the next duo of Master and Key, and pointed her blade towards the heart of the dark-skinned woman. “Shall we eradicate them?” “No,” Arend breathed. “Not yet.” He stepped forward, dusting the dirt off the knees on his pants. “Give me your names.” The dark-skinned female raised her eyebrow, and her Key caressed her face. “Since when do any of us answer to you? Are you making a wise decision, not killing me where I stand?” “No. Coming here is not a wise decision, either. Anything that will result in my death is unwise, apparently.” The enemy Master smiled and nodded. “All you seem to know how to say is no, but that was correct.” She looked Arend in her eyes and wrapped her arm around her Key’s waist. “I am Tenshi, and this is Dhatri, my Key.” Arend gave Tenshi and her Key a long, hard look with narrowed eyes. His back straightened once he finally got his breath back. “Why is it that you haven’t attacked yet? Are you as weak as your comrade?” Tenshi snickered and started to walk towards Arend. Her Key, Dhatri, followed. The two did not look at Arend or Klaytaza, and made no aggressive actions as they walked past them on the sidewalk to the street. “Walk with me,” Tenshi stated. Arend nodded after a moment, reluctantly, and motioned for Klaytaza to follow him. The two couples walked through the city for less than two minutes before Tenshi began to speak. She looked around at the decaying urban world and gray skies instead of glancing at Arend, but her words were clearly meant for him to hear and digest. “I want you to think about something,” she started. “Think about the people who love you most in the world. Think of every person who walks this planet and looks up at the same sky, every person who draws breath and every person who closes their eyes at night only to open them hours later. Think of the people who work day in and day out for productivity, efficiency, and complacency. They are not happy, but they are content. They are alive. Think of them, and imagine the look on all of their faces when they realize they will no longer be alive. Humans spend all their living time working to make some worth out of the small time they carve from the mantle of death, and taking that from them will be taking everything from them.” Arend did not take long to answer. “The person I love most is beside me with my blade in her hand.” He chuckled. “I really wonder if you think existing in this husk of a planet counts as living, to anyone. There is a reason humans are the only species alive.” “Because we have unparalleled desire to survive.” Tenshi stopped walking, and turned to Arend with open arms. Her Key mirrored the gesture. “Therefore, we will fight to survive.” For the first time, Arend looked away from the back of his enemy and glanced at the world around him. It was rare for him not to be aware of his surroundings, especially when it came to such oddities as this. Behind Tenshi and Dhatri was an extremely tall church. It stood apart from the decrepit ruins around it because it was still stark white and unmarred by cracks or breaks. The condition of the building made one assume that it was just recently completed. “My first love was this life.” Tenshi snapped her fingers and Arend looked back down at her. Her Key now had six arms, three on each side held outstretched, and each hand gripped a small sickle. “My second, God.” She stepped backwards, and her Key moved forward, all six arms moving in perfect harmony. “The third, my Key.” Arend looked backwards, and in response Klaytaza ran forward with her sword spinning in her hands. The two Keys began to fight without a word to each other, both slamming cosmic sword metal upon cosmic sword metal. They fought on the steps of the church, neither side giving up an inch. Tenshi turned and walked inside the massive church, and Arend followed after walking around the battling Keys. It made him uncomfortable to not be watching Klaytaza, especially after the fiasco with Natalia, but something was beckoning him to follow the enemy Master. He took a step inside and dropped his hands from his pockets in awe. The inside of the church was like nothing he’d ever seen. Every other building on the planet was made up of the same dark, dreary stone that was mined from beneath the barren dirt of the earth. Nothing was clean in this world, nor shiny or bright or new in its construction. But this church was different. It was startling in how unaffected by time or tragedy it was. The ceiling was tall, easily as tall as a skyscraper, and its windows were of beautifully crafted stained glass. Inside here, it looked as if there had never been an apocalypse. “You do know there is nothing eternal, right? Besides God.” Tenshi stood behind the podium at the front of the church, watching Arend stumble past rows and rows of pristine pews. The boy pushed himself to look at the Master in front of him and respond. “We are all that is eternal. Do you know there is no such thing as a miracle?” Tenshi tilted her head. Her dark purple hair, its color and luster bordering on a black sheen, curled onto her shoulders. “You know much of the metaphysical. But what do you know of faith?” “Nothing,” Arend growled. “I have none to give.” “You burn only temporarily,” Tenshi stated as she crossed her arms over the podium. The sound of metal clanging against metal ran in from the outside, distant and echoing in the wide white walls of the temple. “Too harshly and too bright. But it is nothing compared to the great fires of the Creator.” Arend stepped forward, his hand carefully positioned on the knife kept in his belt behind his back. If he could kill her here, the battle would be over and the two of them could advance without any problems. “There is no difference between us and the Creator, only the fact that the Creator has ascended and looked upon us left behind with love and mercy. He seeks to work for us.” “That’s not what you fight for.” Arend said. The female Master opened her eyes and looked down at her slowly approaching enemy. Arend continued to speak. “You’re not a religious person. Not that religious. You’re defending something… someone.” “You don’t know anything about me,” she said defensively. “No, I know everything about you.” Arend jerked his head towards the entrance of the church. “I saw the way you looked at your Key, and I saw the way she had her hands all over you. I know about it, because myself and Klaytaza are the same.” Tenshi’s eyes widened. “You don’t know anything about us.” “I do. For why else would you refer to yourself and your Key as ‘us’, like I do?” Arend let a savvy smile curl across his jaw. “I understand your love.” The girl looked at him for a long moment and frowned. “I can press a button on this podium and have this church collapse instantly. Both you and I will die.” Arend did not doubt this was the truth, but he did not let any fear show on his face. “You won’t do that. You wouldn’t leave Dhatri.” Tenshi exhaled through her nose before leaving the podium to walk down the steps leading to it. “What could you know of a promise made with lips? A sin made in the service of the almighty? He sees everything, you know. This place is my prison for my crimes. This world is my prison.” Arend lowered his body and held his hand out as if to subdue and calm the Master. “You have sinned, as have we all. Is it not time for justice?” “I fight for justice! You would take that away from us!” “No. I would make it righter than the Creator ever could, if he is even there and lucid enough to judge us for our flaws. How could a flawless being ever understand the struggles of those with imperfections?” Tenshi rubbed her hand over her face, as if to cleanse herself of sweat or dirt, and started walking towards the entrance of the church. Her shoulders were low and her pace slow, as if the light radiating inside the church was breaking her down and eroding her soul. “Time pushes all things to the mutual conclusion. He told us that. Dhatri told me that. It will all be alright in the end.” Arend followed. “Oh yes, just for a couple billion years. Then what, you get reincarnated and sin all over again? Is that what you want to happen? How many times could it have happened already?” Natalia’s face drifted through Arend’s memory, but he shook his head slightly and forced himself to focus. “Klaytaza and I control time. You are right. We are pushing everything to its natural conclusion.” The enemy stopped near the huge opening and looked at Arend with doubt. “I cannot follow you. Whether I join you or kill you, we will all die, and the Creator’s cycle will continue. It will all be… alright.” “No!” Arend stepped closer, and his voice rose. He was so close, and could not let up now. She was almost swayed… “Do you want to see your precious Dhatri killed? Do you think she enjoys being revived, used, and thrown back into stasis forever and ever? Doesn’t she deserve an ending?” Tenshi looked at him with wavering eyes, and a hand went to her chest. It hovered over her heart as she turned to look at the battle between Keys. Two of Dharti’s arms lay severed around the two clashing Key’s, and one was broken at its elbow. The other three swung their sickles around with superhuman speed and deadly accuracy, but Klaytaza was fast and strong. Seeing her Master reappear made her even more formidable, strong and fast enough to dodge an oncoming slice above her head and to her side. She moved in, taking this opportunity to twirl her sword and move into Dharti’s close range. Klaytaza swung her sword with both arms, the force enough to separate Dharti’s chest and face into two distinct pieces. The corpse of the Key fell to the ground. The hand over Tenshi’s chest gripped into a fist, and Arend knew he would not win her over anymore. He quickly pulled free his knife as he pounced on the short distance between him and the Master. He stabbed the blade into her chest three good times, meeting bone once and fleshy muscle twice. Tenshi gasped and fell, hands grasping at her heart as it released blood like a fountain. Her blood was the first thing to ever mar the flawless white of the church. Arend put his knife back in his belt and left the church, the corpse, and the flawless. “So every one of us are simple pawns gifted with power and sent out to die,” he said as he rubbed blood from his eye and spit onto the ground. “My Master,” Klaytaza’s voice suddenly warned from a fair distance ahead of Arend. “They loom…” Her voice trailed off, as if her inhuman vocal cords were failing her. This sound was unfamiliar, and Arend looked up in confusion to investigate the source of this oddity. What could have happened in the few moments he looked away from her? Klaytaza’s body had collapsed into a heap of black and silver, all limbs and darkness spread-eagle as if she had fallen without any consciousness left within her. Directly behind her an army of silver-armed Keys stood menacingly watching Arend’s every move. KEYS TO ETERNITY REMAINING: 988